Harem Daily Life

After He Linzhang finished testing little Jin'an, he was very pleased: "Jin'an is as good as ever. It seems that I will ask the teacher of the elementary school to make it more difficult for you."

Little Jinan said proudly: "Thanks to the good teaching of the Master, I am very willing to learn."

After praising Jin'an, He Linzhang looked at his second daughter who knew nothing about anything, and his head felt buzzing.

"Yuer, the first two lines and the last two lines of the poem you just recited come from two different poems. Did you know that you mixed them up? And you didn't explain the meaning correctly either."

He Yue sighed: "Father, they all look alike. I really can't remember clearly. But father, I have been practicing martial arts with my brother recently, and I remember all the moves very clearly. I can demonstrate them to you, father." After He Yue finished speaking, he looked at the emperor with shining eyes.

He Linzhang took a deep breath and said patiently, "The reason why the emperor agreed to let you practice martial arts is to strengthen your body, not to let you really follow the path of martial arts. You are a princess, don't always think about becoming a female general, okay?"

If a princess becomes a female general, how will she choose a prince consort in the future? It’s such a headache!

He Yue tilted her round head and said in confusion: "But Mother Tao said that you can choose your future career according to your own interests. My interest is martial arts, and my future career is to be a female general. My sister wants to learn medicine, and Mother Tao agreed. I am also my father's baby, why can't I be a female general?"

He Linzhang: “…”

"You are still young. The most important thing now is to learn the Four Books and Five Classics well and be well-educated. Practicing martial arts is an exercise to strengthen your body. Don't put the cart before the horse. Ask your royal brother and sister to urge you more. I will test you in a few days. If you still can't recite, you will be punished by copying books." He Linzhang pinched He Yue's face with a serious look.

He Yue felt like the sky was falling. She was now the focus of her father's attention. Was there no way she could escape the dragon's claws?

He Linzhang looked at his eldest daughter and said, "Xuan'er, you are studying with Imperial Doctor Liu. You have your own specialty. I will not test you. However, I will ask Imperial Doctor Liu to test you every once in a while. You can continue your studies only if you pass the test."

He Xuan nodded and said, "Don't worry, Father. I've been studying pharmacology recently. I've memorized half of the pharmacology book. Imperial Doctor Liu said that he will teach me medical theory later when I can identify medicinal materials."

He Xuan cherishes the opportunity to study medicine very much and studies very hard.

He Linzhang touched her head. The three children raised under Tao Yanyan's name were all shining.

After returning to the study to review the memorials, He Linzhang went back to the bedroom to rest. Tao Yanyan had already stood up and was doing what she called stretching exercises on the chaise longue.

Seeing her stretching her body into various shapes, He Linzhang's Adam's apple moved, but he still held it back.

After Tao Yanyan finished her exercise, He Linzhang pulled her into his arms and rubbed her waist: "The children are all asleep. Xuan'er is studying medicine very hard. This child has a strong character and will achieve something in the future. Jin'an is smart, and I plan to let the teacher of the elementary school teach him more. But Yue'er... the youngest daughter is naughty after all. I think she will be a headache in the future."

Tao Yanyan recalled how serious He Yue was when she was practicing martial arts, and she didn't quite agree with He Linzhang's idea: "I used to think that Yue'er might go astray, just like Your Majesty, but after observing her for a while, I've really impressed this child. She is a child of wealth and beauty, but she can endure the hardships of practicing martial arts, never complaining about the pain, and she is full of fighting spirit. She is also a child with a determined character."

After that, he held He Linzhang's face and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, your genes are so good. These three children are all excellent and will become talents in the future."

He Linzhang frowned: "Gene? What is that?"

Tao Yanyan was speechless for a moment, and hurriedly explained: "Well, it is the foundation that His Majesty passed on to the children. For example, appearance, character, temper, hobbies, etc. The three children are all good-looking, love to study, and have good character. It's all because of the good foundation that His Majesty passed on to them."

The emperor, flattered by the concubine, kept smiling. He kissed Tao Yanyan's cheek and said, "My beloved concubine is the best teacher. She teaches students in accordance with their aptitude."

Speaking of teaching students in accordance with their aptitude, Tao Yanyan wanted to say a few more words and talk to the emperor about what he had thought about the eldest princess these days.

"Your Majesty, I have an idea. I don't know if it can be implemented. Why don't you listen to it?"

He Linzhang became interested and motioned for her to speak.

Tao Yanyan said seriously, "I accompanied Your Majesty to the south before and encountered a flood. At that time, we were trapped in Mengcheng and set up a disaster relief camp. I remember that the biggest worry was the lack of medicine and the outbreak of the epidemic. The second was the lack of doctors. Doctors are very scarce talents in the country. It is difficult to train a doctor with excellent medical skills. I wonder if we can build a school specializing in medicine to recruit children who want to study medicine, so that they can have the opportunity to study like the eldest princess, so that they can not only cure diseases and save lives in the future, but also have a way out."

He Linzhang agreed with her idea, but it was indeed not easy to implement.

“Those who are willing to send their children to study medicine either already have someone studying medicine in their family and want to inherit the family’s legacy, or they send their children to a pharmacy to be an apprentice from a young age. Over time, the family will take in apprentices and pass on the skills. It takes a lot of money to train a doctor, which is not something that ordinary families can afford. Even if the court provides subsidies, it is impossible to expand the scope, let alone provide subsidies for more than ten years. Besides, tuition fees are one aspect, and daily expenses are another. If the family does not earn money and has been spending money for ten years, ordinary families will not be willing to do so.” He Linzhang analyzed rationally.

Tao Yanyan agreed with his statement: "I also know these, so I think we should start on a small scale, recruiting 100 people in the first batch, and the tuition and daily expenses will be paid by the imperial farm. The teachers will be taught by the imperial doctors of the Imperial Hospital or famous doctors in several pharmacies in the capital. Each person can be subsidized with 20 taels of silver per year, which is only 2,000 taels of silver per year, and 20,000 taels of silver in ten years. This investment in education is not much. As long as the workshop keeps making money, it can be fully supported."

If it is such a small scale, it can be done.

He Linzhang looked at the little concubine: "Yan Yan always has some novel ideas to surprise me."

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "In fact, it was the eldest princess who inspired me. Ever since her biological mother passed away, the eldest princess has had the idea of studying medicine, and she studied very seriously, which touched me. I put myself in their shoes, thinking that there may be other children who, like the eldest princess, have ideas and are willing to learn, but suffer from lack of ability and opportunity. They are all your majesty's people. If they can learn and achieve something, the Great Zhou will benefit in the end. This is a good thing for future generations."